Assassination Concerns Stir as a Federal Judge Dies, a Democratic Congresswoman Is Shot in Arizona

Police: Shots Fired at Coast Guard Office in Virginia
Tuesday, November 02, 2010 By Staff, Associated Press Woodbridge, Va. (AP) - Police in Northern Virginia say shots were fired overnight at a Coast Guard recruiting station, the latest case of someone shooting at Military-related buildings in the Washington area. Prince William County police say they're investigating multiple bullet holes at the building. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Chinn said Tuesday it appears the shooting occurred overnight. No injuries have been reported. The FBI's Washi...

Air Force Wants Neuroweapons to Overwhelm Enemy Minds
It sounds like something a wild-eyed basement-dweller would come up with, after he complained about the fit of his tinfoil hat. But Military Bureaucrats really are asking scientists to help them “degrade enemy performance” by attacking the brain’s “chemical pathway[s].” Let the Conspiracy theories begin. Late last month, the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing revamped a call for research proposals examining “Advances in Biosci...

Corporate Crime, Corroding Planes: The Inside Story of The Air Forces Tanker Mess
Sometime before the winter, the Air Force is supposed to award one of the most momentous defense contracts in its history: a deal worth at least $35 Billion to finally replace its ancient fleet of refueling tankers. On the surface, the contract is about buying 179 planes that Will ensure the U.S. Military can continue to fly wherever it needs around Planet Earth. Beneath the surface, it’s a cutthroat competition for the future of the defense industry, with congressmen and the Air Force e...

Pentagons Favorite Jet Delayed as Costs Rise Yet Again
Add another several Billion dollars and years in delays to the Military’s most important New jet. Nearly a year after Defense Secretary Robert Gates fired the head of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program for failing to keep Costs and performance under control, a New internal Pentagon review finds the $382 Billion stealth plane might get pushed back as much as three years, with an added $5 Billion Price Tag. The Joint Strike Fighter was supposed to be a family of stealth Jets that could ...

Shooting reported at U.S. Coast Guard recruiting office
Washington | Tue Nov 2, 2010 12:07pm EDT Washington (Reuters) - A Coast Guard recruiting office in Virginia was damaged by apparent gunfire overnight, and authorities said on Tuesday they were investigating whether the incident was related to a recent spate of shootings at other Military buildings close to the capital. A recruiter arriving at the Coast Guard office in Woodbridge, Virginia, south of Washington, on Tuesday found apparent gunfire damage to the building and its windows and called...

Police: Shots fired at Coast Guard office in Va.
Trial set for man accused in Colo. school shooting WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) — Police in Northern Virginia say shots were fired overnight at a Coast Guard recruiting station, the latest case of someone shooting at Military-related buildings in the Washington area. Prince William County police say they’re investigating multiple bullet holes at the building. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Chinn said Tuesday it appears the shooting occurred overnight. No injuries have been reported. The FBIR...

John F. McDonnell, father of Virginia's governor, dies at age 94 one year after son's election
RICHMOND, VA. — John F. "Jack" McDonnell, the 94-year-old father of Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, died Tuesday. The elder McDonnell had served for 23 years in the Air Force, flying aboard bombers from England into Nazi-occupied Europe in World War II. He raised the future Governor and four other Children with his wife Emma in Northern Virginia. She died in 1994. John McDonnell made one of his last public appearances in a wheelchair at his son's Jan. 16 inauguration. At the State Capitol ...

Police: Shots fired at Coast Guard office in Va.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) - Police in Northern Virginia say shots were fired overnight at a Coast Guard recruiting station, the latest case of someone shooting at Military buildings in the DC area. Prince William County police say they're investigating multiple bullet holes at the building. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Chinn said Tuesday it appears the shooting occurred overnight. No injuries have been reported. It was not immediately known if this incident is linked to other recent shootings at mi...

FT.com / US / Politics & Foreign policy - Gates caught in crossfire over budget cuts
He is arguably the most respected member of President Barack Obama’s cabinet. But Robert Gates has nonetheless this week found himself at the centre of a political storm. The US defence secretary on Monday announced dramatic cuts to the Pentagon’s Budget, an initial step towards his goal of finding $100bn (€76bn, £63bn) of savings over the next five years in a department that spends more than $700bn a year. EDITOR’S CHOICE Editorial: Mission unfulfilled...

Pentagon May See Higher F-35 Costs, Delays Up to Three Years
Lockheed Martin Corp .’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon’s costliest program, may see more price increases and new schedule delays of as much as three years, two government officials familiar with the matter said....

Bureaucrats Act Like Bureaucrats
Matt Yglesias reminds everyone that way too much of what government does is classified secret. I agree. It also reminds me of one of the fascinating things about Conservatives and Liberals: the latter tend to ignore or downplay pathologies of bureaucracies when it comes to most government programs, while the former tend to ignore or downplay pathologies of bureaucracies when it comes to National Security and corporate behavior. Of course, knowing that worker drones have all sorts of perverse in...

Desegregation And Ending The Dont Ask, Dont Tell Policy
Desegregation And Ending The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy Back in July, I reported that prior to President Truman’s 1948 Executive Order integrating the Armed Forces, the various Military branches conducted a number of surveys of the attitudes of enlisted and nonenlisted Troops towards black people and Racial issues. At the time, the Military — along with the overwhelming majority of the country — opposed integrating black servicemembers into the Forces and preferred a ̵

Airman follows his heart to victory in Marine Corps Marathon
ARLINGTON, Va. — Active-duty servicemembers dominated this year’s Marine Corps Marathon, coming in first and third in a race rife with professional runners. Air Force 2nd Lt. Jacob Bradosky was the first runner to cross the finish line with an unofficial time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and thirty seconds. “I’ve been training hard for this race and my goal was to win it,” he said a few minutes after crossing the finish line. “I became more confident with each mile ...

The Exception to Every Defense Budget Rule
There is a new talking point coming from Military leaders, and the Navy got the memo. The Navy's second-highest-ranking officer signaled Monday that troubled weapons programs will fall Victim to the budgetary ax as the service tries to spend its money more wisely. During a Speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, vice chief of naval operations, said the termination of inefficient or ineffective programs will be one part of the service's so-called whol...

F-35 cost overruns in the spotlight again
More Cost Overruns and schedule delays are in the news today (h/t) on the F-35's development. With this news coming in the heat of Election Day in the U.S., it will fly somewhat under the radar (pardon the pun). It shouldn't for us though: Pentagon experts conducting an in-depth review of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint strike Fighter are predicting further Cost increases and delays getting the airplanes tested and into service. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is scheduled to be briefed today on the...

Lockheed F-35 faces more delays, cost hikes
WASHINGTON - Lockheed Martin Corp's new F-35 fighter jet may be delayed by up to three years and its development cost could increase by up to $5 Billion (S$6.5 Billion), sources familiar with the program said on Monday. Navy Vice Admiral David Venlet briefed Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter on Monday about the draft results of a comprehensive review of the program, said the sources, who were not authorized to speak on the record. The review was conducted to prepare for a high-level m...

Pentagon Said to See Higher F-35 Costs, More Delays
Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Lockheed Martin Corp.’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the Pentagon’s costliest program, may see more price increases and new schedule delays of as much as three years, two government officials familiar with the matter said. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is scheduled to be briefed tomorrow on new cost and schedule assessments for the F-35 and other Aircraft, said the officials, who requested anonymity because details aren’t public. Software, engineering and f...

Own the Sky - News & Features (washingtonian.com)
Modern wars aren’t fought just with guns, tanks, Missiles, and bombs. To fight wars today, the US Military depends on a 27-foot telescopic rod that dispenses a torrent of jet fuel at the rate of 1,000 gallons a minute. Without this metal boom and the airplane that tows it across the Sky, the American Military machine doesn’t move beyond our own shores. When the first American Forces deployed to Afghanistan in 2001, they were carried in the bellies of cavernous transport planes that w...

Our Thoughts and Prayers are with the McDonnell Family
Official Release from the Office of the Governor John F. ‘Jack’ McDonnell, father of Governor Robert F. McDonnell, passed away this morning in Fairfax County.  He was 94.  Biographical information about Mr. McDonnell can be found below.  Further details on services will be made available at the appropriate time.  The Governor’s public events for this week and next will be amended to attend to his family. Lt. Col. John F. ‘Jack’ McDonnell (USAF-RET) April

MGM voting guide given to Las Vegas employees - Washington Times
In regards to the recent story by Red State on Harrah's, the following pages are from the over 100 page voting packet given to MGM employees. An asterisk means the individual is the Incumbent. A check mark means the individual is the preferred Candidate of the company. MGM Resorts International is a publicly traded company. View all comment(s) on this article. Please login to post a comment. The Washington Times, a newspaper that has served the nation's capital and a worldwide readership for 2...

F-35 May Be Delayed Further, Cost More; Pentagons Price Tag For Stealthy Warplane Tops $382 Billion
Source: MarketWatch New YORK (MarketWatch) — The troubled F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may see its entry into U.S. Military service delayed further because of problems in the stealthy jet’s software and design, further driving up its costs, according to a media reports. Draft results of a comprehensive F-35 review were presented Monday to Ashton Carter, the Defense Department’s chief acquisition officer, news services reported, citing unidentified sources. Already the Pentagon’s costliest w

Speaker Uninvited from Military Event for Opposing Obamas Policies
Fred Lucas, CNSNews.com U.S. Air Force officials wanted to keep Family Research Council President Tony Perkins from speaking at a National Prayer Luncheon in February because his organization is opposed to Obama Administration issues, according to internal Air Force e-mails. The Air Force chaplain invited Perkins to be Keynote Speaker at the National Prayer Luncheon earlier this year at Andrews Air Force Base, where the president boards Air Force One. After Perkins accepted, at least one perso...

Israel-Greece Relations
Israel is increasingly turning to Greece to compensate for the decline in its relationship with Turkey. Israel recently held Air Force exercises in Greek Air space, and the two countries have signed a civilian aviation agreement. In an e-mail interview, Efraim Inbar, Professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, explains the growing relationship between Israel and Greece. WPR: What is the historical Military and political rela...

Taiwan develops anti-airfield weapon
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Taiwan's Wan Chien airbase suppression weapon system will soon be operational. The Wan Chien Air Base suppression weapon system successfully passed the Taiwanese Air Force's Initial Operational Test and Evaluation earlier this year, Chien-tuan K'o-chi reported Monday. While specific details are classified, the Wan Chien airbase suppression weapon system reportedly carries up to 100 secondary bomblet warheads and has a long-distance remote attack capability. Intend...

Kadena airman recognized for helping save a young boys life
KADENA Air Base, Okinawa — Senior Airman Richard Howell was enjoying a leisurely stroll on the beach with his wife and two dogs when he heard the desperate calls for help. Scanning the water, Howell spotted a frantic Japanese man clutching the body of a young boy. The boy was not moving. Howell sprinted to the ocean’s edge and dove in. When he reached the man, he helped bring the child to shore. With the boy safely on shore, Howell said his Air Force training kicked in. “I be...